Voicing African Voices

Visual Arts in Cameroon

A Genealogy of Non-formal Training 1976-2014
Annette Schemmel provides a highly illuminating case study of the major actors, discourses and paradigm that shaped the history of visual arts in Cameroon during the second part of the 20th century. Her book meticulously reconstructs the multiple ways of artistic knowledge acquisition – from the consolidation of the “Système de Grands Frères” in the 1970s to the emergence of more discursively oriented small artists’ initiatives which responded to the growing NGO market of social practice art opportunities in the 2000s. Based on archival research, participant observation and in depth interviews with art practitioners in Douala and Yaoundé, this study is a must read for everyone who wants to better understand the vibrant artistic scenes in countries like Cameroon, which until today lack a proper state-funded infrastructure in the arts.

ANNETTE SCHEMMEL is invested in Africa’s contemporary cultures as art historian, curator, and writer. She holds a degree in art pedagogy from Munich Art Academy besides her art-historical dissertation from Free University Berlin, which led to the book at hand.

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3 comments

Ntone Edjabe, Founder and Editor, ChimurengaMay 14, 2018 - 2:49 pm

“Le Cameroun c’est le Cameroun” is a famous formula invented by President Paul Biya to articulate a presumed pathological matrix in which the country has been caught throughout the postcolonial era. is proverb falsely suggests that Cameroon
is only speakable through Cameroon – an exceptionalist discourse frequently used by dictatorial regimes across the world. rough this careful and timely study, Annette Schemmel reconnects the country’s own visual arts history to trends, discourses and inherent blind spots in the global art system from the second half of the 20th century onward. On her way, the author also slays the myth-monument of the “Autodidact African Artist”

“Annette Schemmel provides a highly illuminating case study of the major actors, discourses and paradigms that shaped the history of visual arts in Cameroon during the second part of the 20th century. Her book meticulously reconstructs the multiple ways of artistic knowledge acquisition – from the consolidation of the “Système de Grands Frères” in the 1970s to the emergence of more discursively oriented small artists’ initiatives which responded to the growing NGO market of social practice art opportunities in the 2000s. Based on archival research, participant observation and in depth interviews with art practitioners in Douala and Yaoundé, this study is a must read for everyone who wants to better understand the vibrant artistic scenes in countries like Cameroon, which until today lack a proper state-funded infrastructure in the arts.”

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The mission of Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group (Langaa RPCIG) is to contribute to the cultural development and renaissance of Africa. This is achieved by conducting research, providing training in research and writing, and publishing and promoting African scholarship and creative writing. Langaa, not set up for monetary profit-making, is supported by founding members and other contributors, financial grants and efforts of volunteers. Langaa is physically located in Bamenda and Buea (Cameroon), although its members and volunteers operate from different parts of the world.
So far, Langaa has published over 500 titles, mainly on Cameroon, but also on other African countries like Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Outstanding scholars and ordinary people familiar with the Cameroonian and African context provide editorial guidance. Each manuscript is systematically reviewed before a publication decision. Peer reviews, reader reports, and editorial changes are stored as evidence of the rigour of Langaa ’s processes.